Shael Edur
Shael Edur (2 BBY–17 ABY ) was a young pilot hoping to make a name for herself in the galaxy. In the relatively brief time she was out on her own she worked for Talon Karrde's organization, Starlight Swoops, Kasin Enterprises, the Angry Rancor, and the New Republic, (nearly) all at the same time. She was passionate about her flying and her swoop racing, seeming to enjoy nothing more in life than a good race. Like most pilots she was proud of her abilities and did not hesitate to brag about her accomplishments. She also felt strongly about the Galactic War and did not hesitate to risk her life to do her part, or to help her friends. The First Five Years Shael was born on a relatively unknown planet in the Expansion Region known as Altion. With a history of being taken advantage of, the planetary government decided it wanted nothing to do with the Empire, and while the Empire's attention was focused on the Rebellion it was decided the planet would declare its independence. The government of Altion founded a small military, of which Deakin (Shael's father) was a member. He joined their starfighter corps, flying a Z-95 Headhunter. Shael was enormously proud of her father and his flying abilities even as a young girl, and one of her fondest memories is of sitting in his lap in his fighter, while he tried to teach her the basics of flying. Unfortunately the Empire did take notice of the planet's bid for freedom and decided it couldn't be allowed to stand. Shortly after Shael's fifth birthday and mere months after declaring their independence Altion was invaded. Shael, her childhood friend Whisler, and Shael's mother (Luana) tried to evacuate together while Shael and Whisler's fathers reported for their military duties. In the chaos of the evacuation Shael and Whisler were both seperated from Luana, though the girls were safely evacuated to a friendly planet named Chical. The fate of Whisler's father and Luana was never discovered. It was reported, however, that Deakin was shot down and killed in defense of the planet. Life on Chical Chical, having seen what had become of their neighbor planet, took a different stance on Galactic politics. They felt that it was in the best interest of their citizens to dutifully serve whichever government was in power in that region of space at any given time. As a result the girls became used to changing textbooks and changing curriculum through their years as students. With no relative to be found for either girl, they were both placed in the foster care system shortly after being evacuated. They were initially placed in seperate homes for the first few years, and changed placements several times before Shael found herself in the care of a woman named Callandra Treyall. After being in the woman's care for a few months Shael was able to convince Callandra to take on the care of her childhood friend as well. Callandra was good to the girls, indulging their individual talents and doing her best to encourage their studies. Shael was allowed to follow in her father's footsteps and she began persuing flying lessons. Whisler likewise imitated her own father, developing an adeptness for mechanics. By carefully saving their money and refurbishing used parts the two girls were eventually able to piece together their most prized possession, a working swoop they dubbed 'The Rasper.' The self-same swoop managed to get the girls in a great deal of trouble. Once they had the swoop working, neither girl could resist the urge to show off their work and their piloting, leading them to enter the Rasper in illegal races on the outskirts of the city. It was on one such evening when Shael was not actually racing that the local law enforcement invaded, managing to catch both girls. Brought before the courts, it was decided that their foster placement was not appropriate. Shael was to be placed in a group home for another two years until she was eighteen, Whisler was to be placed in a juvenile detention facility for that and past offenses. Faced with the possibility of being seperated from their foster mother and each other Shael and Whisler made the only choice they felt they could: they ran. Shael Winters Hoping to remain hidden from any in the foster service that may be searching for her, Shael Edur adopted the name of Shael Winters with matching false ident cards that proclaimed her to be a little over two years older than her actual age. Using their false IDs, the girls initially got a job with a rather disreputable shipping company, but it was not long before the girls found themselves instead in the employ of Talon Karrde. It was while with Karrde that Shael and Whisler learned of their foster mother's death in a land speeder accident, a tragedy the young pilot never truly came to terms with. With the help of friends in Karrde's organization, however, Shael began to recover from the tragic news and even came to believe she might be able to help affect the tide of the Galactic War and hinder the Empire if she only applied her efforts appropriately. With the disappearance of Karrde, Shael and Whisler made the decision to leave his organization and find independent work. Shael quickly picked up work in a number of different places, sometimes transporting cargo for the New Republic, Kasin Enterprises, or Daana Roon and her ship the Angry Rancor. Shael was involved in Operation Shado Kolpo, smuggling supplies past the Imperial Blockade onto Coruscant, as well as the efforts to evacuate the refugees to Ord Mantell, the planet that subsequently became Shael's new home. During a brief stint in Imperial custody, as a result of her involvement in Operation Shado Kolpo, Shael met Krieg, a man she felt she owed her life to and the only Imperial she knew of that she believed to be a decent person. Shael even adopted yet another alias, that of 'Jeni Donella' as her racing personna for Starlight Swoops' team in the Galactic Swoop League. Racing in the G1 category on her swoop, the Outlaw, Shael won all the races that she entered, and secured the G1 speed record on the Caspar track. At the end of the 15 ABY season 'Jeni' was awarded with the G1 title, a fact that Shael remains quite proud of. It was on the track that Shael met Ikihsa Enb'zik, one of the few swoopracers she believed to have more talent than herself, and a man who grew to be a close friend. Whisler's Disappearance Whisler had less success finding work and was growing increasingly bitter over the ease with which Shael seemed to succeed in her life. The straw that broke the bantha's back came when Shael got into a brawl with Serenella in the spaceport, and chose to press charges against the other girl. Angry that Shael would risk exposing their identities, she left and Shael did not hear from her lifelong friend for almost a full year. Admitting the Truth With her 18th birthday quickly approaching, and with the encouragement of her friends Sha'dria, Enb'Zik and Snarl, Shael chose to admit to her friends that she had been lying about her identity and switched back to her real name. Her friend and mentor Senator Del Marx helped advise Shael, and reassured her that any legal repercussions could be dealt with. And so, individually or in small groups, Shael confessed to each in turn and was pleasantly surprised to discover that other than some friendly ribbing the news was well recieved. Miss Galaxy After the urging of several friends, Shael reluctantly entered in the Miss Galaxy pageant under her pseudoname of Jeni Donella. She did not win the contest, but she did make an impression with her controversial talent. Using her remote-controlled mini X-Wing, Shael reinacted the distruction of the Second Death Star, much to the outrage of the Imperial members of the audience. The outrage caused by Shael's performance, however, was soon overshadowed by the disgust generated by Lynae's demonstration of disembowlment techniques. Disappearance and Death While assisting the New Republic in rescuing some captives on Corellia, Shael was gravely injured and presumed killed in action. No attempts were made to locate her, until news of her presence in a labor camp was discovered by the NRI two and a half months later. Shael's friends Kyrin and Wrista mounted a rescue, bringing her and several other captives back to Ord Mantell. Shael's recovery from what she experienced at the hands of the ISB was slow and difficult. She began falling into alcoholism and drug addiction, but made improvements largely through the help of her friend Sha'dria. Things took a sudden downward turn, however, when Sha'dria left the Seraphim to return to her own ship, leaving Shael alone to care for herself. A few scant days later Shael broadcast a short-burst message stating that she could no longer live with all she had done, before piloting her Gnat-freighter the Seraphim into an asteroid field where it was destroyed. She was presumed killed in the apparent suicide in early 17 ABY. Edur, Shael Edur, Shael